Simplify the following expression: $p = \dfrac{n^2 + 2n - 8}{n + 4} $
First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ n^2 + 2n - 8 = (n + 4)(n - 2) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $p = \dfrac{(n + 4)(n - 2)}{n + 4} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(n + 4)$ on condition that $n \neq -4$ Therefore $p = n - 2; n \neq -4$